Openness is the companion virtue to loyalty, the corporate cultural trait discussed last month. “Loyalty” is not about reflexively, mindlessly digging in and refusing to change – it is about (1) holding steadfastly to the mission and core values of the organization, its raison d’etre and (2) sticking together with our colleagues as loyal teammates (not defaulting to my own personal interests all the time).
Openness (in individual character or organizational culture) is not the same thing as emptiness; it doesn’t mean abandoning everything. G.K. Chesterton used to say it was important to have an open mind—but not open at both ends. Loyalty to the mission and the team is at the base of an open mind and culture. It is the anchor that allows freedom, openness, and risk-taking.
A radical openness, anchored by loyalty to one’s core mission and values, is a critical component in a healthy culture.
Think of the opposite traits: arrogance, closed-mindedness, narrowness, and rigidity. These vices stifle creativity and freedom. They kill off learning and growth and blind us to our own weakness. Strength comes out of receptivity and a willingness to learn from others. This is why “loyalty” (the first great trait) must be to the right things: the mission and the team. A fierce, unbending loyalty to everything else, “the way we always did it,” is paralyzing and destructive.
Jim Collins and Jerry Porras argued in Built to Last (1995) that great companies both “preserve the core“—and “stimulate progress” by reaching for “big, hairy, audacious goals” and by cultivating a “try lots of things, keep what works” approach. They say it is a yin/yang relationship, a both/and dialectic. Having a deep anchor allows for wide ranging experimentation. It is common sense.
In Good to Great (2001) Jim Collins reported that one of the top two traits of “level five” leaders who took their companies from good to great was precisely this kind of personal humility and openness. Even if we are doing well, adding the best ideas from someone else can make us even better. Openness and a humble teachability are not signs of weakness but of strength.
Openness needs to be practiced in at least three directions.
First, openness is directed toward people; it is inclusive rather than exclusive. We can learn from anybody. This is a personal and corporate attitude to be cultivated. Diversity is not a burden imposed on business, it is (or can be) an asset in bringing different perspectives, sensitivities, and ideas to the table. Ethnicity, gender, nationality, language, age, educational and vocational experience . . . all of these and similar differentia should be welcomed positively --- on the condition that we are loyally united in commitment to our common mission, core values, and to working together.
Second, openness is directed toward ideas—“intellectual openness”—new thoughts, innovative, fresh concepts and ways of doing things. Somebody once wrote a book entitled “The Seven Last Words of the Church” --- modeled after the famous “seven last words” of Jesus on the cross before his death. The “seven last words of the church”? “We never did it that way before.” Not a few businesses and managers fall back to that kind of closed minded thinking themselves. The 3M company is justly famous for its openness to new ideas. And certainly you have to hand it to Toyota and other Japanese automakers for beating Detroit to a pulp—mainly by their openness to innovation and the ideas of others, while Detroit closed up and suffered the competitive consequences.
Third, openness is directed toward criticism. It is easy to be open to ideas that reinforce our opinions, but much harder to hear criticism. But such openness to criticism is a source of strength, helping us discover problems and cut our losses while they are relatively small, rather than getting really nailed farther down the road. I often say that “you can’t be my friend if you won’t kick my butt” (upon hearing this, many ask to be my friend). What I mean by this is that you are no real friend of mine if you won’t spare me from a big mistake by challenging me and warning me. All of us as individuals need to be sure we have a personal, long-term “posse” or “kitchen cabinet” like this where we give each other not just the consolation and celebration but the constructive criticism we need. And in our organizations we need to embrace and promote this kind of openness. Here is how my friends at Harris & Associates put it in their “Harris Way”: “ Be open to criticism, admit mistakes, take responsibility, and take corrective action. Take the initiative to improve your own performance. Do not hide from criticism, evade responsibility, or try to pass the buck. ”
Finally, think about who you want to work for. What kind of manager? What kind of company culture? Isn’t it obvious that we flourish when we get to work for bosses and companies who are open to our ideas --- and even to our critique and suggestions for improvements?
-David W. Gill
© 2009 David W. Gill.